Hansen Yang

[peZt]

Based on the last game, Yang is more advanced than Jokic at the same age. Of course you shouldn't compare developmental trajectories to someone (Jokic) who is likely a top 5 all time great in peak.

This kid is good on every level. Has play making, mentality/maturity and defense. There was a play with some perpetual fringe NBA scrub was getting flustered at him, Yang was laughing. When an opponent loses their cool, their basketball suffers.

And on top this kid is legit big at 7'1" without shoes with a 7'3" wingspan. Wingspan isn't the greatest but at least positive which is good for an East Asian prospect. You take previously high level passers like Sengun, who is 6'8" without shoes. There is a huge difference in size here.

Jokic at Yangs age was MVP of the ABA league and many thought he would’ve been a top 10 pick if drafted a year later (at Yangs age now)

Yang is younger than Jokic during his first summer league by a few months though. Both played SL when they were 20, Yangs BDay was day of draft, Jokics was in February. So that doesn't make a lot of sense.

Jokic also had a pretty bad SL, which should be a reminder to take it with a grain of salt. He only averaged 1.4 assists and shot poorly. Yang looks awesome so far for all the flack Blazers got, but it is just summer league. Haven't seen a big man pass like him in Summer League before though, not even Jokic. Maybe Ben Simmons if he counts.

I know but he said at the same stage. Yang is 20. Jokić at 20 was mvp of a professional league. His first summer league was at age 18/19

[EvanZ]

Literally 1 SL game against maybe the worst SL team of all time and he’s Jokic? Guys can we please chill with these hot takes? My god.

[JRoy]

Literally 1 SL game against maybe the worst SL team of all time and he’s Jokic? Guys can we please chill with these hot takes? My god.

Lol.

He does look like he can play in the league hyperbole aside.

[NO-KG-AI]

Literally 1 SL game against maybe the worst SL team of all time and he’s Jokic? Guys can we please chill with these hot takes? My god.

You misread, he’s a better passing, better shotblocking Jokic.

[SNPA]

Everyone is welcome in the gang.

But we have this thread to always be able to recognize the OYs (Original Yangsters).

[azcatz11]

Literally 1 SL game against maybe the worst SL team of all time and he’s Jokic? Guys can we please chill with these hot takes? My god.

Lol.

He does look like he can play in the league hyperbole aside.

He moves really, really well for a dude his size. I'm honestly shocked at how agile he is.

[JRoy]

Literally 1 SL game against maybe the worst SL team of all time and he’s Jokic? Guys can we please chill with these hot takes? My god.

Lol.

He does look like he can play in the league hyperbole aside.

He moves really, really well for a dude his size. I'm honestly shocked at how agile he is.

He gets gassed so easily. A season of cardio, top notch diet and gym will do him a lot of goods.

[Peregrine01]

He impresses me. He makes the game look easy which is a good tell for how good a player is. Guys who effortlessly make the right play and creates easy baskets are extremely rare.

As for his skills, he has tremendous footwork and obvious passing ability. He looks like he has soft hands which is huge for a big. Lastly, his jumper could use some work. The kid clearly patterned his game after Jokic.

[bucknut]

Doesn't attack the ball in the air on boards with verocity hes so concerned with blocking his man out. Bacot beat him on some 50 50 balls.

Likes contact but needs to generally get stronger for better ball security in the post and boards

the biggest thing that separates jokic besides the jumper is jokics patience and comfortability with his back to basket from 3 point line to the block. Right now hansen is a straight face up guy from outside 5 feet. Feels alot more like sabonis then jokic.

Showing he needs polish to be sure, but yeah, his passing is absolutely special

As a passing weapon facing up from middle of key is alot for effective to read the d. Yang is Payton manning dictating at the top of the key, anticipating cuts and calling out routes where guys aren't even cutting yet. Divacs level passing. Historical level passing, ive seen like 4 passes every game that makes your jaw drop

His patented spin at his circumference and mass is looking to be unstoppable. He gains ground on his pivot

Hes gonna be the epicenter of the offense due to his passing. His downhill game and post game I think are good. He just needs that J and some more strength/polish and to start getting a more scorer mentality. Eventually portland will realize, like Denver did, they have to give him the keys and nudge him to shoot more.

[Chokic]

Why was yang penciled in only as a 2nd rd talent for a whole year leading up to the draft despite his skill level for his size and age? Skepticism based on competition level or lack of exposure?

[BlazersBroncos]

Why was yang penciled in only as a 2nd rd talent for a whole year leading up to the draft despite his skill level for his size and age? Skepticism based on competition level or lack of exposure?

Both IMO - as well as a underlying bias against Asian players IMO. I think simply they inherently have a 'soft' label and have to work harder than others to dispel said label. From the small sample size of 2 SL games Yang sure as hell doesnt play soft. He might actually be too agressive. Guy has no issue straight up pushing a defender away from his body lol.

His J needs work but he really does play alot like PDX era Sabonis. I cant vibe on the Sengun comparison b/c Yang should be a much better rim protector and general post defender (Wont be great in space but not many at 7'2 are).

[EvanZ]

I think if I would have watched China vs Australia exhibition game before the Olympics I would have taken him more seriously.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Why was yang penciled in only as a 2nd rd talent for a whole year leading up to the draft despite his skill level for his size and age? Skepticism based on competition level or lack of exposure?

Because he projects to be close to the worst defender in the league and lacks the ability to create his own shot from the perimeter. He has no role in the NBA and projects to be like Jahlil Okafor.

Yang has to score 25+ PPG to be playable in the NBA and he's not going to.

[EvanZ]

Why was yang penciled in only as a 2nd rd talent for a whole year leading up to the draft despite his skill level for his size and age? Skepticism based on competition level or lack of exposure?

Because he projects to be close to the worst defender in the league and lacks the ability to create his own shot from the perimeter. He has no role in the NBA and projects to be like Jahlil Okafor.

Yang has to score 25+ PPG to be playable in the NBA and he's not going to.

Bro this is a wildly inaccurate take. It's laughably bad. Have you watched him play at all? I can't imagine you're being serious because he's literally nothing like Okafor.

[JRoy]

Why was yang penciled in only as a 2nd rd talent for a whole year leading up to the draft despite his skill level for his size and age? Skepticism based on competition level or lack of exposure?

Because he projects to be close to the worst defender in the league and lacks the ability to create his own shot from the perimeter. He has no role in the NBA and projects to be like Jahlil Okafor.

Yang has to score 25+ PPG to be playable in the NBA and he's not going to.

Yang not scoring 25 ppg seems a safe bet. How many centers do?

He’s a foreign rookie. He looks like a rotation guy at the very least to me.

[bucknut]

Uh mr yang has a 3 ball - that is scary

.Only shot 1 a game and 3 assists in China - he was not used correctly .....that and stereotypes is why he wasn't projected high

He is guarding extending to the 3 point line on defense ...no one thought he could. He got beat but he isnt getting smoked. He just needs to take half -1 step back

Post game he said he is still getting used to Americans pulling the chair instead of direct contact, which has led to several turnovers.
The last post move of the night vs pelicans was masterclass

Does lack some twitch on d in addition to needing some more ferocious vice grips.

But feels like a star and it's obvious.

[CptCrunch]

Worst defender in the league? Lol

Aside from bad stereotype at best, racism at worst. There is no other explanation.

[BlazersBroncos]

Think the most likely outcome is a Brad Miller type guy which is still a great pick at 16. But he has some outlier potential due to his feel and PDX era Sabonis isnt out of the question.

I think he showed himself much closer to being a NBA rotation guy this SL than I expected. Shot better than I though, rim protection is there, passing is his unicorn trait, works on both ends of the floor, absolutely not afraid of contact or to get chippy, footwork another outlier trait at his age. He moves better on the peremiter than I expected (Albeit obviously hes not a Beringer type big in that regard). Overall I am liking the pick, loving the balls to take him 16.

No Jokic comparisons from me - I just dont compare prospects to all time greats.

[bucknut]

Worst performance of summer league from yang but still 3 jawdropping bounce passes. Every pass he makes is a bounce pass. Might go down as best bounce passer in nba history. Most use their height for overhead passes, but it also gives vision for the bounce

Second jump ability on d is so bad. His shot blocking range isnt very good if he has to move outside his radius to get there. Vertical might be worse then sorber. Don't see him having much affect on the Shai s or lebrons even if positional wise he is in a spot to give a contest

He will be attacked on d still..... but the same can be said of jokic in many of these respects. Doesn't mean he can't be great

But jokic has a much much better second jump

[FarBeyondDriven]

Worst performance of summer league from yang but still 3 jawdropping bounce passes. Every pass he makes is a bounce pass. Might go down as best bounce passer in nba history. Most use their height for overhead passes, but it also gives vision for the bounce

Second jump ability on d is so bad. His shot blocking range isnt very good if he has to move outside his radius to get there. Vertical might be worse then sorber. Don't see him having much affect on the Shai s or lebrons even if positional wise he is in a spot to give a contest

He will be attacked on d still..... but the same can be said of jokic in many of these respects. Doesn't mean he can't be great

But jokic has a much much better second jump

he's clearly gassed. He needs a lot of conditioning work this summer to get prepared for the regular season grind. I think Clingan has the same type of issues tbh. The two of them combined should give the Blazers one solid center's production and I think that's why Yang was selected despite them taking Clingan last draft, because they know for at least a couple of years neither is capable of playing 30 mpg so this will allow them each to go hard for 24 mpg.